“You
are tiny yet your warm weight fills my arms just right. You sure
surprised us when you decided it was time to be born two weeks early. You
must have been as anxious to meet us as we were to meet you, my precious
baby girl. Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe. I’ll never let anything hurt
you. I love you.”

“Goo ga
coo ooo burrrp.”

* *
*

“What’s wrong, darling? You can’t be hungry—I just fed you ten minutes
ago. There, there that’s better. You just wanted Mommy to hold you.
You’re getting so big! Three months old already. You’re so cute. I love
you. I guess I’ll just have to leave the laundry until later. Hush
little baby, don’t you cry...”

* *
*

“Guess
what? We’re going to see Santa Claus. I know you’re still so little but
it will be exciting. I’ll take lots of pictures to send to Grandma and
Grandpa.

“You
look adorable in your fuzzy red sleeper. Let’s get you bundled up in your
snowsuit. It’s chilly outside. Here we go—wait. What’s that smell? Did
you just go poopy?”

“Hoo
hoo heee ah.”

“You
think that’s funny, don’t you? Oh! Well at least you got it out of your
system before we got to Santa’s house—he might’ve asked us to leave.

“There—all fresh and clean. Let’s get you dressed again. Santa’s going
to think you’re the most beautiful baby in the whole wide world. I love
you, baby girl.

“Wait
- what’s that smell?”

* *
*

“We’re
getting company today! Mommy has to clean the whole house so you can play
with your toys.”

“Mama,
Mama!”

“No,
honey. Mommy’s all yucky from washing the icky floor. Show me your new
kitty.”

“Titty-tat?”

“No,
not Rascal. He’s sleeping. I mean your new pretend kitty, the pretty
pink one. Where is she?”

“Yes,
yucky. Mommy has to put you in your playpen while I vacuum this up. No,
don’t cry. Mommy’s not mad. That’s an ugly old plant anyways. Daddy
picked it out.”

“Yucky?”

“Yucky
is all cleaned up now. I might as well go over the rest of the carpet
again. There, that’s all done.”

“Titty
yucky.”

“What? Oh Rascal! I can’t believe you threw up! Poor kitty. Well,
let’s put you out while I clean it up. Whew! Mommy needs to relax for a
minute. All this cleaning makes me tired. Want to snuggle with me on the
couch?”

“Hmmm.”

“Maybe
we should take a little nap before Grandma and Grandpa get here. Night,
night baby girl. I love you.”

* *
*

“Hurry
honey. We have to go home now. Mommy still has the dishes to do and
laundry and I was going to clean your room today and I have to make
lunch. Besides, we’ve been here for an hour and a half already. Aren’t
you getting hungry for lunch?”

“NO!”

“Come
on, we really have to go. I promise we’ll come to the park again
tomorrow.”

“NO!
I WON’T GO! NOOOOOOOOO!”

“Okay. I guess I’ll have to carry you. I love you, you know.”

“NO!”

* *
*

“Hurry
darling. We’re going to be late for pre-school.”

“I
don’t wanna go today. I’m too tired.”

“You
always say that. Come on now, I’ll help you get dressed. Do you want to
wear pants or a dress?”

“A
dress. Mommy, why do I have to go to school?”

“Just
because. Besides, you always have so much fun playing with the other
girls.”

“Okay. Hurry, Mommy. I don’t want to be late. Drive faster!”

“Here
we are. Do you want me to walk you in?”

“NO!
I can do it myself!”

“Okay,
okay. I love you.”

“I
love you too, Mommy.”

* *
*

“You’re doing it! You’re doing it all by yourself! Oh, I’m so proud of
you! I knew you could do it if you just kept practicing. Good job!”

“Can I
ride to the corner?”

“Sure,
I’ll come with you.”

“No!
I want to go by myself.”

“Well,
just be careful. I love you. I’m really proud that you can ride your
bike!”

“Bye!
I love ya!”

* *
*

“I
don’t think you’re ready for a sleepover, sweetheart. You still have bad
dreams and I have to come down to your room almost every night.”

“Love
you too. I’m going over to a friend’s house so I won’t be home until
supper.”

“Okay. I love you.”

“Mom.
We already did that.”

“Oh,
yeah. Right. Bye.”

* *
*

“Ma’am, is this your daughter?”

“What? What time is it, Officer?”

“3:00
AM, Ma’am. Is this your daughter?”

“Yes,
yes of course. What did she do? Are you all right, honey? Come here.”

“She
was in a car accident with six other teenagers. She’s lucky. She just
has a few bumps and bruises. The driver of the other vehicle wasn’t so
lucky. He’s in the hospital with multiple broken bones and a concussion.”

“Oh
honey!”

“I’m
sorry, Mom. We weren’t drinking, I swear. Joe just didn’t see that truck
in time.”

“Is
that all, Officer?”

“Yes,
Ma’am. Your daughter has already given a statement so we shouldn’t need
anything further. You have a good evening now.”

“Thank
you. And thank you so much for bringing my daughter home.”

“You
could have been killed! And who is this Joe? You know you’re not allowed
to date until you’re sixteen, and that’s still four months away! You
could have been killed.”

“Don’t
cry Mom. I’m okay, really. And we weren’t on a date. A bunch of us were
just driving around after the show, that’s all. It was just an accident.
Please don’t cry.”

“I’m
sorry. I just worry so much about you. What if you’d been seriously
hurt? Or worse?”

“Well,
I wasn’t Mom.”

“Thank
God. I love you so much. I never want to lose you.”

“You’ll never lose me, Mom. Now can I go to bed? I’m really tired.”

“Sure. Sleep good. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

“Okay. Night, Mom.”

* *
*

“Where
do you think you’re going? Get back here! I said, GET BACK HERE!”

“What?”

“That’s better. Now I want to know who you’re going to the fair with.”

“None
of your business.”

“I’m
making it my business, young lady. Now speak up.”

“I
can’t believe you’re doing this to me! No one else’s mother is such a
witch!”

“No,
no boys, Mother. For your information, I’m practically the only girl in
the whole universe that doesn’t have a steady boyfriend. It’s all because
of your stupid rules, not letting me date until I was sixteen and having a
stupid curfew and being forced to tell you exactly where I’m going to be
at any given moment.”

“It’s
because your father and I care so much about you. We love you, you know.
You’re still so young.”

“Well,
I’ll be eighteen next fall and I can do whatever I want then.”

“Okay. Until then, I still want to know when you’ll be home tonight.”

“AAAAAAH! Fine, fine! Probably around midnight! Geez, I’ve gotta be the
only girl on the planet who still has a curfew!”

“All
right. You can go. I love you.”

“I
hate you.”

Door
slams.

* *
*

“Just
tell me where you’re going, please?”

“I’m
getting the hell out of here and you and Dad can’t stop me!”

“We’re
not trying to, we just want to know where you’ll be so we can call you.”

“So
you can keep tabs on me? NO THANKS! You’re done calling the shots, Mom.
Joe’s taking me out of this stupid town and I’ll be the one deciding if I
call or not.”

“Honey, can’t we talk about this? You know we don’t entirely trust Joe;
he’s been in trouble with the law...”

“Don’t
you ever listen? He was set up! That jerk Brad put that pot in his car.
Plus his suspension is up, so it’s all legal for us to clear out. There’s
nothing you can do about it!”

“Will
you remember one thing, though?”

“What?”

“I’ll
always love you, no matter what. This will always be your home if you
want to come back.”

“Yes!
Oh thank God you’re okay! It’s been three whole months without a word.
You can’t imagine all the horrible things that have been going through my
mind. Is everything okay with you and Joe? Are you alright?”

“I
guess so. I’m pregnant.”

“Oh.”

“See!
I knew this was a bad idea! I told Joe you would ex-communicate me or
something. I shouldn’t have called...”

Phone
slams.

* *
*

“Mom,
could you come?”

“What
is it, what’s wrong?”

“Mom I
need you. I lost the baby.”

“Oh
honey! Oh, I’m so sorry! I’ll be right there! I’ll call your father at
work and let him know. Where are you?"

"We
have a little apartment in Mystique."

"That's
only an hour from here. I’ll leave right away.”

“Just
hurry, Mom. I can’t stand this. I think I’m going to die.”

“No, no
you won’t. Just hang on, darling. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Oh,
sweetheart, I’m so so sorry! I love you so much! Where’s Joe?”

“He’s
in the other room. He won’t talk to me.”

“He’s
just hurt and grieving like you are. Go to him. You have to get through
this together.”

“I
think he hates me. He wanted a son so badly. Oh, Mom, it hurts!”

“I know
honey and I’m so sorry. Have you called a doctor?”

“Yes,
we just got back from the emergency room. They gave me drugs but it still
hurts, you know? Even though I was only four months along. My heart... I
don’t know. It feels...broken.”

“Oh
honey. Just hang on and I’ll be there soon, okay? What's your address?”

“1767
Dove Lane.”

“I'll
be there just as soon as I can. I love you, sweetie.”

“I know
Mom.”

* *
*

“Mom,
can I borrow your veil? I’ve been shopping for six months and nothing
goes with my dress and the wedding is only three weeks away and the
caterer said he’s booked and the church wants another deposit because they
can’t find any record of the first one and I don’t know where I’m going to
come up with another $300 and…”

“Slow
down. Take a deep breath. Everything is going to work out fine. Of
course you can borrow my veil. I’ll have to make sure it doesn’t have any
tears or stains or anything.”

“I’m
sure it will be fine. It’s just got to be!”

“Should I bring it over tomorrow?”

“Yeah-that would be great! I love you, Mom.”

“I
love you, too.”

* *
*

“Mom,
guess what? You won’t believe it!”

“You’re pregnant?”

“Oh,
Mom. How did you know?”

“I
could tell by the sound of your voice. Oh I’m so happy for you! How far
along are you?”

“Just a
couple of months. We found out this morning. We wanted to confirm it
with the doctor before we called with the good news.”

“I am
so thrilled! Did the doctor give you any special instructions or
anything?”

“You
mean because I’ve already had a miscarriage? No, he said everything
should be fine. I only lost the other baby because there was probably
something wrong with it. Dr. Akins said I’m perfectly healthy even though
it’s only been six months. Everything is completely normal and he said I
should have an uneventful pregnancy.”

“Oh,
I’m so happy. Should I come and stay with you and help out?”

“Well,
maybe when the baby is born. I’d like that.”

“Okay,
let’s plan on that then. Will you keep me posted?”

“Of
course. I love you, Mom.”

“I
know, sweetheart. I love you too.”

* *
*

“Would
you like to hold your first granddaughter, Mom?”

“Oh,
yes. Oh, she’s so precious. Look at how wispy her hair is, just like
yours was. Oh, she smells so good! I had forgotten how wonderful babies
smell.”

“Oh,
she’s starting to cry. Let me take her. She’s probably hungry.”

“Here
you go, precious. Go to your Mommy. She was hungry! Look at her eat.
With that kind of appetite she’ll be up and walking before you know it.”

“Slow
down, Grandma. She’s only three days old.”

“Yes,
darling but they grow up so fast.”

“Well,
I can’t wait until she grows up enough to sleep through the night. I’m
exhausted! I don’t know how you did it with me and the boys. I’d go
crazy if I had three kids.”

“No
you wouldn’t. You’d cope, just like you always do. I’m so proud of you,
sweetheart. My little girl, all grown up and a Mommy now. I love you so
much.”

“I
love you too Mom.”

“Can I
hold her again?”

“Sure,
Mom.”

“I
love the name Rose. Do you remember I used to call you my little
rose-petal?”

“No, I
guess I don’t remember that. I just remember you always saying ‘I love
you’ even when I was mad at you or being a brat or just plain rotten. You
still always said it.”